


I've always wondered where you've been

by lifewasradical



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Calum and Luke are sneaky, Dinner, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29156841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifewasradical/pseuds/lifewasradical
Summary: It’s perfect, Luke thinks, being placed on the side where they can blend in perfectly yet see everything. Calum looks equally pleased as he sits down, unfolding the napkin onto his lap, nodding to the waiter as they fill up glasses with water.They have the best view, right where they need to be in order to see Michael and Ashton across the room, too tied up in one another to notice anyone else in the place.Or, Calum and Luke are spying on Michael and Ashton's date.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood, Michael Clifford/Ashton Irwin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	I've always wondered where you've been

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt fic AND a birthday fic for the lovely [Em](https://redrattlers.tumblr.com) with the prompt "quit staring, they'll notice us". Em, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and I hope you like this! love you 💜
> 
> Title from Story of Another Us by 5sos

“Table for two? Hood?” the waiter says, a plastic smile permanently etched onto their face. Luke barely holds back an eye roll at it, but instead follows Calum through the restaurant to a tiny table on the side. 

It’s perfect, Luke thinks, being placed on the side where they can blend in perfectly yet see everything. Calum looks equally pleased as he sits down, unfolding the napkin onto his lap, nodding to the waiter as they fill up glasses with water. 

They have the best view, right where they need to be in order to see Michael and Ashton across the room, too tied up in one another to notice anyone else in the place. 

“Do you have a good line of sight?” Calum asks, raising his eyebrows at Luke across the table. Luke checks again, noticing that he’s angled perfectly to see both Michael and Ashton’s faces. Michael is essentially beaming at Ashton, biting his lip to hold back the smile. Ashton looks equally as smitten, hands folded on the table in an effort to lean as close to Michael as possible. 

“Affirmative,” Luke grins. 

“You’re fucking lame, making it seem like we’re on a secret mission or something.” 

“We are,” Luke says, “What part of spying on our best friends on a secret date isn’t a secret mission?” 

When Calum and Luke had asked Michael and Ashton to hang out tonight, they both had gone red, stammering through excuses of family stuff and other plans. Luke was fishy from the moment that they had left, wondering what they could possibly be hiding. Calum clearly thought the same thing, devising a plan to follow them. 

When that led them to a fancy restaurant and the astonishing fact that Ashton and Michael had been hiding a date behind their backs, Calum and Luke couldn’t resist the urge to spy on them for a little while. So they got a table and despite not being dressed properly to be at a higher-end place, they managed to go undetected. 

“Date night?” the waiter says, startling Luke. He blushes, floundering on what to say as he opens his mouth uselessly. 

“Yes, but could we have a few more minutes to look over the menu?” Calum answers flawlessly, all charming smiles and batting eyelashes. Luke tries desperately not to stare. 

The waiter nods and leaves, off to take care of another table. Luke plays with the edge of a fork just to have something to do with his hands. “Date night?” Luke echos, trying to keep the edge of desperation out of his voice. He shouldn’t be feeling this way, shouldn’t have his heart stuttering at the very concept of sitting down for an actual date with Calum. He’s never expressed any interest in Luke outside of friendship but no matter how many times Luke tries to get a better grip on his emotions, they’re always sliding through his fingertips. 

“Was easier than explaining that we’re here to stalk our friends, no?” 

Luke agrees, taking a sip of his water to have something to do with his hands. It looks like Michael is scanning the restaurant, so Luke rapidly picks up his menu to hide his face, hoping that he didn’t manage to get a glimpse of Luke. It’s unlikely, but Luke is paranoid that Michael or Ashton is going to notice and he’ll have to leave his fake date with Calum before he has a chance to commit all the details to his memory. 

He picks out some chicken dish from the list before carefully tilting his head to peer over the side. When he’s sure that Michael is too engrossed in what Ashton is saying once again, Luke puts down the menu and faces Calum. 

Calum, with slightly mischievous eyes and a sweet smile, tilts his head to the left just a little bit, “What are they doing back there? I wish I could see them too,” Calum essentially whines, pouting dramatically.

Luke steals a glance, catching Michael and Ashton doing… a whole lot of nothing. They’re sitting and talking, enjoying whatever entrees they ordered and chatting. If it wasn’t for the setting and the smiles on their faces, Luke could have been convinced that they were just hanging out together, without Luke and Calum. 

Luke shifts his eyes, just the smallest bit, so he’s able to look at Calum instead. He can’t pinpoint the moment when he realized his feelings for Calum were more than just friendly, but the intensity of that feeling has only grown the more that he tries to deny it. And sitting here under dimmed lighting with fancy tablecloths and multiple forks on the table doesn’t help Luke’s brain. Instead, he’s really able to imagine that this is real, that Calum is here because he wants to be sitting across from Luke, not because he wants to spy on his friends. 

But it’s Calum, all soft hair and crinkly eyes and an all too calming persona. It’s Calum, arms stretching out the fabric of his striped shirt and hands clasped tightly in front of him. His lips are slightly pouted, bottom one jutting out just a tiny bit and all Luke can think is if he just leans forward a little bit, he can only imagine how soft it would feel to-

“Quit staring, they’ll notice us,” Calum hisses, slapping Luke’s arm with the menu. Luke blinks, focusing back in on the conversation at hand. Calum doesn’t have to know that Luke absolutely wasn’t staring at Michael and Ashton. 

“Uh, yeah, uh, they’re just, eating? Nothing is happening, you’re really not uh, missing anything,” Luke stammers, praying that his cheeks aren’t as red as he thinks they are. It’s embarrassing, being caught in multiple lies at once: the lie that they’re on a date, the lie that he’s not hopelessly enamored by Calum. 

“Good, I just can’t believe they would hide something like this from us. What do they think, we’ll make fun of them? I mean, I will, but only because I love them,” Calum says, a teasing smile taking place of the vague frustration that was there before. 

“Maybe they’re just afraid of how we’d react? Like, they want to tell us but they’re scared that it’ll mess up the friendship and then everything will change from then. I couldn’t deal with everything changing.” Luke knows he’s not talking about Michael and Ashton anymore, but Calum remains blissfully unaware, nodding along to Luke’s concern. 

“But it’s us, Luke, nothing is ever going to change us.” 

It feels like the perfect response, too sincere and heartfelt when they’re just talking about their friends. But that’s how they’ve always been, Calum and Luke. They’re intertwined with one another in a way that no one understands, their friendship running so deep that sometimes they can’t decipher who's who. It’s terrifying, being that engrossed in someone that Luke can barely see his own shadow without Calum’s right next to him. He’s not sure what he’ll ever do if Calum takes a few steps away from him, so Luke keeps his secret locked up tightly. 

They order their meals and eat quickly, hoping that they can stay on track to follow Michael and Ashton to their next destination, at a safe enough distance not to get caught. Calum steals bites of Luke’s chicken and Luke kicks him under the table. Luke has to get a grip and remember that this isn’t a date and withhold the urge to wipe the sauce from Calum’s cheek. That’s not what friends do. These feelings are one sided. He can’t get in too deep. 

“Dessert? Something to share?” the waiter asks, raising their eyebrows at the suggestion. Luke lets himself daydream about feeding Calum a spoonful of some fancy treat and has to shake his head to clear the thought. The waiter takes that as a no and puts the check down instead, bowing their head slightly as they walk away. 

Calum grabs the check first, nodding approvingly at the amount. “What do I owe you? I’ll venmo you,” Luke says, reaching for his phone to start the transaction.

Calum frowns and grabs hold of Luke’s wrist, “No, don’t worry about it. I dragged you here, I got it.” 

Luke opens his mouth to protest but Calum stands and points to the bathroom, saying he’ll be back in a minute. Luke deflates, giving only quick glances over to Michael and Ashton to make sure that they haven’t left yet. He catches Michael giving Ashton a small bite of his cake and jealousy flares up, making Luke feel even worse about himself and the situation they’ve been put in. No, the situation that he’s put himself in, since Calum has no control over the way that Luke feels.

“Did the date go well?” the waiter interrupts, taking the check from Calum’s side of the table. 

Luke flushes, mind going even more sour with another reminder of his failed emotions. “It isn’t a date, we’re spying on our friends,” Luke says, unable to keep in the lie, along with the frustration in his voice. 

The waiter huffs, smiling knowingly, “You sure about that? Your date- uh, friend?- looked a little too invested in you for this not to have been a date. Maybe talk to him?” 

Luke tries not to roll his eyes but nods. This waiter doesn’t know anything, Luke thinks, because that’s just the way that Calum looks at Luke. There isn’t anything there and there never will be. 

When Calum returns, Michael and Ashton are starting to get up from their table. “Perfect timing,” Luke says as he slides on his jacket and they both follow their friends at a safe distance. 

They turn right out of the restaurant, heading towards what is likely Michael’s place. Their hands are intertwined and Luke feels the rush of annoyance seep in again with the desperate want to reach out and take Calum’s hand too. 

  
“Cute, aren’t they,” Calum whispers, not wanting to be heard regardless of the distance between the couple and the friends. 

“Yeah,” Luke sighs, defeat sinking into his tone. It’s unfair, both to Luke himself and to Calum, for Luke to be frustrated when there’s nothing he can do and nothing that can change. 

Calum walks a little closer to Luke, bumping his arm against Luke’s softly. “Why the long face? That was a pretty decent first date,” Calum laughs under his breath. 

“Yeah, date,” Luke offers stupidly, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

Calum misses a step, tripping a tiny bit on the sidewalk. When Luke looks over at him, there’s a particularly intense look on his face. It’s unnerving, not knowing what Calum is thinking at this moment. His eyebrows are pulled together and his lips are parted a bit, an internal debate clearly going through his mind. 

“Luke…” Calum starts, taking in a deep breath. “Don’t hate me if this fucks everything up but I can’t not say this now. I wish that we had just been on a real date. I wish that it hadn’t been just an excuse for us to creep on Michael and Ashton because I wish that it had been us on that first date, for real. And I’m sorry if this messes up our friendship but seeing the two of them together just emphasizes how much that I want you and I to be together too.” 

Luke’s jaw drops, unable to hold back the, “WHAT” that he basically yells, loud enough to gain attention from others on the street. 

“Luke? Calum?” Ashton’s panicked voice calls out. Calum and Luke turn their heads to see Michael and Ashton have stopped a few feet away, both gaping back at their friends. 

“Uh, hi?” Calum laughs, scratching the back of his neck with a half ashamed look on his face. 

“What are you doing here?” Michael asks, nerves evident in his voice. Luke thinks it’s cute, the way that he’s so clearly worried about Calum and Luke having caught them in their lies. Little does Michael know, Luke couldn’t care less about the two of them now after Calum’s admission. 

“We saw you,” Luke says. 

Ashton’s eyes widen for a second and he shuffles a half step away from Michael. Luke smiles as the distressed look on Michael’s face when Ashton is no longer in arm’s reach. 

“How much did you see?” Ashton asks now, biting his lip. 

“We went to dinner at the same place you did. Please don’t look so stressed out, we’re not mad at you, more just confused at why you were hiding it from us,” Calum says. 

Ashton relaxes a little, a small smile on his face now as he steps back to Michael and takes his hand again. Michael’s pleased grin is enough for Luke and Calum to close the space between the two pairs, meeting in the middle. “We weren’t hiding it, really. It was just new and we didn’t know if it was going to work out, so we didn’t want to share anything yet. But that clearly didn’t last long.” 

Michael blushes, grabbing onto Ashton’s arm and holding tightly, pressing himself against Ashton, “I’m sorry, but also I’m not. I didn’t think this was how you were going to find out.” 

Luke shakes his head, barely paying attention to the conversation. Even though he has so many questions, he can’t be bothered asking them now, not when him and Calum need to have a significantly more important conversation right now. “It’s okay, we promise. Go finish your date, we can talk more tomorrow over lunch or something. I know I’m just glad to see you happy,” Luke offers, trying to wrap up this part of the night. 

Michael nods, smiling widely despite himself, “Thank you. See you guys tomorrow.” Ashton waves and they continue down the street, leaving Luke and Calum alone. 

Calum’s face transforms from calm to worried in a split second, turning back to Luke with a shaky breath. “I’m sorry if I just messed everything up,” he says, sticking his hands in his jacket pocket. 

Luke shakes his head, blinking back at Calum, “Did you just admit to liking me?” 

Calum closes his eyes and nods, keeping his eyes shut as if that’s going to save him from some kind of pain. Luke has to restrain himself from jumping at Calum immediately, instead letting out a decidedly embarrassing squeal. He’ll let himself be ashamed of that later, but for now he reaches out to tug Calum’s hand out of his pocket, lacing their fingers together. 

Calum’s eyes pop open, looking first at Luke’s face and then at their hands, then back to Luke’s face. A smile slowly starts to creep onto Calum’s face at the realization of Luke’s actions. 

  
“Yeah?” Calum says uselessly, biting his lip to hold back his own smile. 

“I spent most of dinner wishing it was a real date, so I’m right here with you,” Luke says, practically vibrating with excitement. Adrenaline runs through his veins, setting his skin on fire as he drops Calum’s hand in favor of wrapping his arms around his torso, holding onto the back of his jacket like Calum is somehow going to change his mind and disappear. 

“Thank god,” Calum huffs, holding onto Luke just as tightly. 

They still have more to talk about and figure out, but they’re content to stand under the street light and enjoy this moment. Now when Luke looks back to this memory, he no longer has to pretend it’s their first date; he’s allowed the knowledge that like always, him and Calum were on the same page. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on Tumblr [lifewasradical](https://lifewasradical.tumblr.com) 💜


End file.
